NAGPUR: The southern regional committee of Naxals, operating from Bastar region in Chhattisgarh, released a press release last week lambasting prime minister Narendra Modi and the Land Acquisition ordinance issued late last year. The rebels, calling the law detrimental to the interest of farmers, have appealed for a mass struggle against it.

Naxals have underlined the fact that the Modi government's amendments were as exploitative as the one originally enacted by the British in 1894. Drawing comparison between the land acquisition acts of past and present, the Naxals stated that such enactments had always paved the way for exploitation and displacement of the native land owners and farmers in substantial numbers. The rebels also claimed that Opposition's role too was merely an eyewash.

The press note claimed that the UPA government too had brought the same enactment in a different mode making consent of 80% farmers necessary for allowing the acquisition. The enactment also warranted consent of 70% farmers in Public-private partnership (PPP). The Naxals projected the fact that Modi's government had now done away with consent clause altogether and the farmers were left with no choice but to give up their land. The farmer owned lands would be used to set-up Special Economic Zones (SEZ) and such other projects for the benefits of private companies, they added.

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